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D.T. Pollard
D.T. Pollard NONE D.T. Pollard, an Essence Bestselling author from Texas, discovered his passion for writing at a young age but paused during college. After a 25-year career in technology sales, he r...
Stephanie Renee Bell
Stephanie Renee Bell NONE Stephanie Renée Bell, an author of 5 books and a gifted musician, dedicated her life to her faith and art until her passing in 2010. Renowned for her Christian rap songs, p...
Rowan Ricardo Phillips
Rowan Ricardo Phillips 0000000077578485 Rowan Ricardo Phillips, an acclaimed poet and author, is recognized for books like Heaven and The Ground. Winner of the 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship, his work ha...
Carl Van Vechten
Carl Van Vechten 0000000115587789 Carl Van Vechten, the great popularizer of the Harlem Renaissance for white people. Carl Van Vechten was a renowned photographer and author, best known for his contri...
Hunter Hayes
Hunter Hayes 0000000356472077 Author Hunter Hayes returns to the literary scene after a hiatus. Known for his critically-acclaimed novels, Shoes On the Otha' Foot and A Pair Like No Otha', Hayes is n...
Ladan Osman
Ladan Osman NONE Somali-born poet and essayist, Ladan Osman, is renowned for her award-winning works including “The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony” and “Exiles of Eden.” She's also contributed to the Se...
Michelle Cliff
Michelle Cliff 0000000110018763 Michelle Carla Cliff (1946-2016) was a renowned Jamaican-American author known for her explorations of colonialism and racism through novels, short stories, and poetry...
Andre Seward
Andre Seward NONE Andre Seward, also known as Poetryman7, is a poet who has been writing since 1998. His works are deeply grounded in faith and spirituality, exploring themes of love, grace, and fami...
Tracy K. Smith and Kevin Young
Tracy K. Smith and Kevin Young MULTIPLE Tracy K. Smith is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of four poetry books, including 'Life on Mars', and the upcoming 'Such Color: New and Selected Poems'. She ha...
Matthew Shenoda
Matthew Shenoda 0000000045678350 Matthew Shenoda is a writer, professor, and author and editor of several books. His poems and essays have appeared in a variety of newspapers, journals, radio progra...
Cheryl Boyce-Taylor
Cheryl Boyce-Taylor 0000000038283932 Trinidad-born, Queens-bred Cheryl Boyce Taylor is a celebrated poet and visual artist. She's authored several poetry collections, received the Partners in Writing...
Etheridge Knight
Etheridge Knight 0000000066439498 Etheridge Knight, born on April 19, 1931, was a renowned poet who began writing while incarcerated and published his notable collection, Poems from Prison, in 1968. ...
Camille T. Dungy
Camille T. Dungy 0000000036407735 Camille T. Dungy, renowned poet and essayist, is known for her work in 100 Best African American Poems and 30 other anthologies. She's a recipient of multiple awards...
Kelly Harris-DeBerry
Kelly Harris-DeBerry NONE Kelly Harris-DeBerry is an award-winning poet and the author of Freedom Knows My Name. Known for her gift to bring poems to life by using her voice as an instrument, audienc...
Tracy K. Smith and John Freeman
Tracy K. Smith and John Freeman MULTIPLE Tracy K. Smith is a Pulitzer-winning poet, author of four books, including 'Life on Mars', and editor of 'American Journal'. She served as the US Poet Laureat...
Angelina Weld Grimké
Angelina Weld Grimké 0000000110713205 Angelina Weld Grimké (1880-1958) was an accomplished American journalist, teacher, playwright, and poet. Notably, she was one of the first Black American women ...
Frank Marshall Davis
Frank Marshall Davis 0000000037536993 Frank Marshall Davis (1905-1987) was a renowned poet known for four volumes including 'Black Man's Verse' & '47th Street: Poems'. His works were later edited by ...
Dawn Turner Trice
Dawn Turner Trice NONE Dawn Turner Trice is an accomplished author of two novels and a former Chicago Tribune columnist. She's also written commentaries for NPR's “Morning Edition Show.”
Francesca Ekwuyasi
Francesca Ekwuyasi 0000000501283548 Francesca Ekwuyasi is a writer and filmmaker originally from Lagos, Nigeria. Her work explores themes of faith, family, queerness, consumption, loneliness and bel...
Una LaMarche
Una LaMarche NONE Una LaMarche is a prolific author of young adult novels and humor essays, and a contributing writer for The New York Observer and The Huffington Post. She blogs at The Sassy Curmudg...
Dinaw Mengestu
Dinaw Mengestu 0000000114920471 Born in Ethiopia, Dinaw Mengestu immigrated to the US in 1980. He's a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and the Guardian First Book Award. His first novel earned mul...
Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers
Alexander Smalls with Veronica Chambers MULTIPLE Alexander Smalls is a renowned American chef, former owner of NYC restaurants including the award-winning Cecil, and a Grammy and Tony-winning opera s...
Alexander Smalls
Alexander Smalls 0000000458935095 Alexander Smalls, an iconic American chef and owner of award-winning NYC restaurants, is also a co-author of a James Beard award-winning cookbook and a globally reco...
Brad Walrond
Brad Walrond NONE Brad Walrond is a poet, author, and performance artist renowned for his contribution to the 1990s Black Arts Movement in NYC. His works include recordings, an album, a multimedia in...
J.M. Benjamin
J.M. Benjamin NONE Allow me to introduce you to one of the hardest working hustlers in urban lit: J.M. Benjamin J.M. Benjamin is a successful, powerful and impacting ...
Carolyn Holland
Carolyn Holland NONE Carolyn Holland, a bibliophile and historical romance enthusiast, is dedicated to diversifying the genre by writing books for and about people of color. Inspired by LA Banks and ...
Laura Nsafou
Laura Nsafou 000000046109520X Laura Nsafou, alias Mrs Roots, is an Afrofeminist blogger and author known for her literature reviews and articles on Afrofeminism in France. As the founder of Afrolab a...
Marita Golden
Marita Golden 000000008396725X In a professional writing career that spans more than twenty years, Marita Golden has distinguished herself as a novelist, essayist, teacher of writing and lite...
Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez 0000000080885435 Sonia Sanchez (b. 1934) is a significant figure in the Black Arts Movement, known for her innovative and original poetry that explores racial and gender struggles. Her ...
Dianne Ochiltree
Dianne Ochiltree NONE Dianne Ochiltree is a nationally recognized author, writing for children of all ages. Her work, ranging from stories to poems, has been translated into multiple formats includin...
Toi Derricotte
Toi Derricotte 0000000083980729 “My skin causes certain problems continuously, problems that open the issue of racism over and over like a wound.” Toi Derricotte is an award-winning poet a...
Jen Bryant
Jen Bryant 0000000067561735 Jen Bryant is an award-winning author of picture books, novels, and poems for all ages. Her accolades include two Caldecott Honors, two ALA Schneider Family Book Awards, a...
Princess F.L. Gooden
Princess F.L. Gooden NONE Born and raised in Atlanta, Princess F. L. Gooden is a gifted writer, poet, and dramatist. She started writing at a young age, and by 13, she had written and directed plays ...
Patricia Hubbell
Patricia Hubbell 0000000084277955 Patricia Hubbell, a celebrated children's author, has written numerous award-winning books and poems over her four-decade career. Her work features in over 200 antho...
Charles R. Smith Jr.
Charles R. Smith Jr. NONE Charles R. Smith Jr. is an acclaimed author, poet, and photographer with over 30 books. He's a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and Honor Author Aw...
Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Natasha Anastasia Tarpley NONE Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, a Chicago native, nurtured her love for writing from a young age. She began publishing poetry in high school and honed her craft at Harvard U...
Teri Ellen Cross Davis
Teri Ellen Cross Davis NONE Teri Ellen Cross Davis, award-winning author of 'Haint: poems', is a Cave Canem Fellow and Poetry Coordinator at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. Teri Ell...
Carolyn Marie Rodgers
Carolyn Marie Rodgers 0000000066509791 Carolyn Marie Rodgers (1940-2010), a key figure in the Black Arts Movement and co-founder of Third World Press, was born and raised in Chicago. Known for her po...
Ai Ogawa
Ai Ogawa 0000000368573553 Ai Ogawa (1947-2010), born Florence Anthony, was a prominent poet and author awarded with the American Book Award and a National Book Award. She authored seven books of poet...
Sherley Anne Williams
Sherley Anne Williams 0000000114970321 Sherley Anne Williams was an influential poet, novelist, and professor known for her works portraying her experiences within the African-American community. Bor...
Adrian Matejka
Adrian Matejka 0000000037525872 Adrian Matejka is a Germany-born, Indiana-based author and educator. A graduate of Indiana University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, he has penned award-...
Roxane Orgill
Roxane Orgill NONE Roxane Orgill is a seasoned music critic and author with over 20 years of experience, having worked with The Wall Street Journal and The Milwaukee Journal. She is known for her bio...
Carolyn Joyner
Carolyn Joyner NONE Carolyn Joyner is a dedicated poet with a divine mission to inspire through themes of politics, love, and spirituality. Her performances span from Washington, DC to Chicago and En...
Truth Thomas
Truth Thomas NONE Truth Thomas, born in Knoxville and raised in Washington DC, is an award-winning poet and singer-songwriter. He has authored four poetry collections including Speak Water, winner of...
Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott 0000000114709596 Winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature Walcott, won the Nobel Prize for Literature (1992). The motivation for the Prize was, “…for a poetic oeuvre of great lumino...
Pamela Sneed
Pamela Sneed 0000000035258600 Pamela Sneed is a New York-based poet, writer, and actress, featured in prestigious publications and has performed globally. She's included in “The 100 Best African Amer...
Michelle D. Rayford
Michelle D. Rayford NONE Author Michelle D. Rayford, winner of a fifth-grade literacy contest, nurtured her passion for writing through years of education, a government job, marriage, and motherhood....
George Moses Horton
George Moses Horton 000000006316904X George Moses Horton (1798–1884) was the first African American poet to be published in the Southern US, while still enslaved. His notable works include “The Hop...
Haki Madhubuti
Haki Madhubuti 0000000114735014 Haki R. Madhubuti, a leading figure in Black literature, is a poet, publisher, editor, and educator. With over 30 published books and 3 million copies in print, he's o...
Gloria Oden
Gloria Oden 0000000382838642 Gloria Catherine Oden (1923-2011) was a renowned poet, editor, and English professor from New York. A Pulitzer Prize nominee for her poetry collection 'Resurrections', sh...
Anna Christian
Anna Christian NONE Anna Christian is an accomplished author of seven books, including 'Then Sings My Soul' and 'Daniel’s Wife'. She has made contributions to the African American National Biography ...
Mervyn Taylor
Mervyn Taylor 0000000395906544 Trinidad-born poet, Mervyn Taylor, divides his time between Brooklyn and Trinidad. A teacher at several institutions, he's known for his five poetry books including awa...
Jayne Cortez
Jayne Cortez 0000000080983190 Jayne Cortez (1936-2012) was a celebrated poet and performance artist, known for her political and surrealistic lyricism. She authored eleven books of poetry and present...
Joseph S. Spence, Sheila M. Parrish-Spence, and Jonathan Clarence Parrish-Spence
Joseph S. Spence, Sheila M. Parrish-Spence, and Jonathan Clarence Parrish-Spence MULTIPLE The Spence family, consisting of Joseph, Sheila, and Jonathan, use poetry and various other forms of artistic...
Yolanda T. Marshall
Yolanda T. Marshall NONE Yolanda T. Marshall, born in Guyana, is a writer and manager for Canada's largest Academic Publishing Company. With a passion for guitar and poetry, she published her first b...
Kwesi Oginga
Kwesi Oginga NONE Kwesi Oginga, born in Guyana, is a renowned dramatist, author, and pastor. He wrote plays for Guyana's top festivals, directed plays for the president's birthday, and has penned sev...
Alexander Andrews
Alexander Andrews 0000000063097189 Alexander Andrews, a critically acclaimed poet of diverse heritage, is known for exploring themes of love, childhood, and environmental stress. His highly-rated deb...
Irene Latham and Charles Waters
Irene Latham and Charles Waters MULTIPLE Irene Latham and Charles Waters, “Poetic Forever Friends”, are renowned for their collaborative poetry books for young readers, including award-winning works ...
Kwame Dawes
Kwame Dawes 0000000073665848 Ghana-born Kwame Dawes, a poet significantly influenced by Jamaican rhythms and reggae music, is the author of numerous poetry collections, novels, and non-fiction works....
Jason Lawrence Moore
Jason Lawrence Moore NONE "Jason Moore, a Connecticut-based writer, pens one-page poems on diverse subjects, drawing from his experiences in Indianapolis, the US Navy, and corporate America. His work...
Jean “Binta” Breeze
Jean “Binta” Breeze 0000000025335932 Jean “Binta” Breeze (1956–2021) was a renowned Jamaican poet who published eight books and performed globally. She first gained recognition in 1985 at the Inter...
Lucille Clifton
Lucille Clifton 0000000117802788 Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) was a distinguished poet and professor, notable as the first African American woman to win the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. She also won the N...
Uzoma R. Ezekwudo
Uzoma R. Ezekwudo NONE Uzoma “Uzo” R. Ezekwudo is a graduate of Economics from the University of North Carolina who discovered a love for writing in her adulthood. She's penned a diverse collection o...
Mari Evans
Mari Evans 0000000108875002 Mari Evans, born July 16, 1919, was a significant figure in the 1960s Black Arts Movement. She was a distinguished writer and educator, teaching at institutions like Corne...
Pat Parker
Pat Parker 0000000106773440 Pat Parker (1944-1989) was a renowned African-American, lesbian-feminist poet and performer. Notable works include 'Jonestown & Other Madness' and 'Movement in Black'. She...
Noah Davis
Noah Davis 0000000403317062 Noah Davis, a Pennsylvania native, is a renowned author specializing in poems and prose about the Allegheny Front. His work has featured in numerous publications and his f...
aja monet
aja monet 0000000370068724 aja monet is a surrealist blues poet, storyteller, and organizer born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She won the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam poetry award title i...
Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni 0000000114678830 Nikki Giovanni (June 7, 1943 to December 9, 2024 was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni (June 7, 1943 &n...
Bernardo Wade
Bernardo Wade NONE Born & raised in New Orleans, Bernardo Wade tries at poems, catches elbows on the court, wanders around the Bay—occasionally on Stanford’s campus as a Wallace Stegner Fellow. ...
Stephanie Powell Watts
Stephanie Powell Watts 0000000123378514 Stephanie Powell Watts, a former Jehovah’s Witness minister and factory worker, is a celebrated writer and teacher of fiction and creative nonfiction. With a B...
Sterling D. Plumpp
Sterling D. Plumpp 0000000081297870 “You can not ever get free as a result of legislationHellip;you always have to take freedom.” Sterling Dominic Plumpp, born 1940, is an esteemed poet, e...
Nathan McClain
Nathan McClain NONE Nathan McClain is the author of Scale, a recipient of fellowships from The Frost Place, Sewanee Writers' Conference, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and a graduate of the M.F.A. ...
Toni Asante Lightfoot
Toni Asante Lightfoot NONE Toni Asante Lightfoot, a Cave Canem graduate and writing workshop teacher, is a co-founder of the Modern Urban Griots and a leader in the Blackout Arts Collective. She serv...
Wanda Coleman
Wanda Coleman 0000000116780476 “I have yet to kill anyone—I have exhibited great restraint.” Wanda Coleman (1946-2013) was a renowned poet, former medical secretary, magazine editor,...
Jeannie Eneh
Jeannie Eneh NONE Jeannie Eneh, a Dallas native, is a passionate poet and romance writer. Known for her active imagination, she enjoys family time and appreciating the tranquility of nature. Jeannie ...
Useni Eugene Perkins
Useni Eugene Perkins 0000000082421407 Useni Eugene Perkins (1932-2023) was a renowned author, poet, playwright, social worker, and civil rights activist. Known for his work during the Chicago Black A...
Mae V. Cowdery
Mae V. Cowdery 0000000068646714 Mae V. Cowdery (1909–1948) was a gifted poet of the Harlem Renaissance whose work explored racial pride, love, and sensuality with unusual candor for her era. Born in...
Laban Carrick Hill
Laban Carrick Hill NONE Laban Carrick Hill (1960 – 2021) has written two young adult novels: A Brush with Napoleon, based on the life of the French Romantic painter David, and Casa Azul, based...
Dean Atta
Dean Atta NONE Dean Atta is a renowned poet whose work tackles race, gender, and identity. Shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize, he performs worldwide and his debut YA novel is The Black Flami...
Janae Marie
Janae Marie NONE Krystle Hudson, also known as Janae Marie, is an award-winning author and filmmaker from Detroit. Known for her creativity and passion, she started writing poetry at 13 and novels at...
Jessica M. Rinker
Jessica M. Rinker NONE Jessica M. Rinker has a BA in social welfare from Bloomsburg University and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She's a free...
Jayne Moore Waldrop
Jayne Moore Waldrop NONE Jayne Moore Waldrop is a writer and attorney who loves telling stories about her native western Kentucky. She is the author of A Journey in Color: The Art of Ellis Wilson (S...
Robert Coles
Robert Coles 0000000108597620 Robert Coles (literary scholar & poet) is emeritus associate professor of African-American literature at Hampshire College. He earned his B.A. from Lincoln Universi...
Sasha Debevec-McKenney
Sasha Debevec-McKenney NONE Sasha Debevec-McKenney’s poems have appeared in The New Yorker, New York Review of Books, and Yale Review. She was the 2020–2021 Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow...
Andre R. Thornton
Andre R. Thornton NONE Andre R. Thornton, an African American poet and visual artist, aims to challenge common misconceptions through his work. Based in Columbia, Maryland, his diverse creations rang...
Angela Johnson
Angela Johnson 0000000114404557 Angela Johnson, an acclaimed American author, has penned over 40 children's books and poems since 1989. Her numerous awards include the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Awar...
Valjeanne Jeffers
Valjeanne Jeffers NONE Valjeanne Jeffers, a graduate of Spelman College and North Carolina Central University, is a member of the Carolina African American Writer’s Collective. She is a published poe...
asha bandele
asha bandele 0000000385071694 Asha Bandele is an award-winning author and former features editor for Essence Magazine. She's known for her 1999 debut, The Prisoner's Wife, a memoir about her relation...
Geffrey Davis
Geffrey Davis NONE Geffrey Davis, an award-winning author and poet, is renowned for his book 'Revising the Storm'. He's a recipient of numerous accolades including the Anne Halley Poetry Prize. His w...
Brian Gilmore
Brian Gilmore 0000000109671669 Brian Gilmore is a renowned poet, writer, attorney, and columnist associated with the Progressive Media Project. He's a multiple award-winning author with publications ...
Cornelius Eady
Cornelius Eady 0000000025783225 Cornelius Eady is a renowned poet and author of eight books, including award-winning “Victims of the Latest Dance Craze.” He co-founded the Cave Canem workshop for Afr...
Gwendolyn Bennett
Gwendolyn Bennett 0000000041133249 Gwendolyn B. Bennett was an influential American artist, writer, and journalist during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in 1902, she contributed to Opportunity, publish...
Briana Cole
Briana Cole 000000009758038X Briana Cole, Atlanta-based author and entrepreneur, started her writing journey with poetry and short stories. She used her talent to launch a greeting card business befo...
Melvin Dixon
Melvin Dixon 0000000110291356 Melvin Dixon, a respected professor at Queens College, City University of New York, was renowned for his work on African and African-American literature. He authored nov...
Charisse Carney-Nunes
Charisse Carney-Nunes NONE Charisse Carney-Nunes, writer, speaker and literary advocate, is the award-winning author of the children’s books, I AM BARACK OBAMA (2009), I DREAM FOR YOU A WORLD:...
Mervyn Morris
Mervyn Morris 0000000122796976 Born in 1937, Mervyn E. Morris is a renowned Jamaican poet and scholar. A Rhodes Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing & West Indian Literature, he was the...
Brenda M. Greene
Brenda M. Greene 000000008095850X Dr. Brenda M. Greene is a respected professor, writer, and scholar, leading the Center for Black Literature and the National Black Writers Conference. She has contri...
Fiston Mwanza Mujila
Fiston Mwanza Mujila 0000000107622783 Fiston Mwanza Mujila, born in Congo in 1981, is a critically acclaimed author and scholar currently residing in Austria. His literature, inspired by Congo's poli...
Jericho Brown
Jericho Brown 0000000055016908 Jericho Brown is a 2024 MacArthur Foundation’s “Genius” Grant Winner Jericho Brown, born 1976, is a renowned, award-winning poet recognized for his inf...
CS Reid
CS Reid NONE CS Reid is an accomplished writer and educator, with degrees in Writing & Critical Theory and Cross-Cultural Teaching/English. She aims to inspire adolescents through her work, notably '...